Divine Masked
by The Temptation
Summary: Mia makes up the perfect story focused on a simple action between the two leads - a kiss. Sora is playing one of the leads and is forced to choose her partner but doesn't know who. Who will she choose? Reviews are very appreciated!
1. Chapter 1: The Proposal

Chapter One:

The Proposal

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The day was finished with good work outs and practice at the Kaleido Stage. Almost everyone was filled with exhaustion from their practices, except one. An orange pigtailed girl was sitting intently in her dorm room in front of her laptop. She wore her black trimmed eye glasses as she tried focusing. But she just couldn't.

She yelled, "ARGH!!"

The sudden outburst drew the other inhabitants of the dorm to her room. Fists banged loudly on her door. It broke her out of her extremely focused state. She got up and opened the door. There stood five people at the door in combat ninja poses with their pajamas.

"Mia! Are you okay?" A lavender haired colored girl asked.

"Sora? Everyone? Why are you here?" Mia certainly wasn't expecting guests at this late of the hour.

The boyish looking one answered. "We heard you scream!"

The Chinese girl stepped forward into the room. "Where are they?! Let me at them!"

Mia in total confusion stepped aside letting the other girl in to inspect her room. "Who?"

"The intruders!" The little red head claimed.

"I'll give them a KAIYA! And a WOOO!" The blonde stood at the doorway doing martial art moves to emphasize her point.

"So where are they?" May was puzzled not seeing anyone that seemed uninvited.

Mia sighed. "There's no intruder. I was just having a hard time coming up with an idea for a new script."

"Oh, is that why you were called in today?" Sora asked.

Mia nodded. "Yep, he says that I have a week to come up with one." She sighed.

"Don't worry Mia. You'll figure out something. You always do!" Anna stated. She patted the distressed Mia's back in hopes of cheering her up.

"Yah, it's not like Kalos will fire you if you didn't come up with one in time or something that's less than perfect." Sarah chimed with a cheery attitude obviously not aware that her statement had hurt Mia's feelings and confidence.

"I agree. The worst thing he'll do, if you don't finish, would be to fire you as the director, producer and writer. It's not that bad. You'll still be a performer!" May and Sarah nodded at each other with agreement of the others' thoughts.

Mia's face went from constricted with focus and frustration to droopy with gloom—drained of confidence. The ideas of her friends got her thinking of all the possibilities that could happen if she didn't make something great and on time.

"You guys aren't helping…" Sora interjected coming to Mia's aid.

"Yah look at what you did now!" Rosetta added. These comments escaladed as the argument became heated. But the one thing that postponed it was the Spirit of the Stage.

"Why don't you all just kiss and make up?" Fool said with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Fool, when will you stop being so perverted? And especially in the most wrongest times!" Sora added. "Don't make me flush you down the toilet!"

"Fool-sensei, this is not the time for such a comment." Rosetta continued.

May became curious as to what the Spirit of the Stage had said. "What did he say?"

"It's nothing important!" Sora tried snagging Fool, but remained unsuccessful.

"TELL ME! BARK! BARK! BARK!" May started snapping and chomping like a rabid animal.

"He said we should kiss and make up." Rosetta answered. She was too tired for anymore games. She just wanted to sleep.

"What the..?!" May imagined that the Spirit of the Stage was a spirit that was filled with wisdom and sophistication, but never did she thought he was a pervert. She gave him too much credit.

Then it struck Mia. _Kiss? Kiss… Kiss… KISS!_ "I GOT IT!" Her sudden excitement woke her friends even more. _This… it cannot be turned down._

"What?" May questioned.

"Mia, did you get an idea?" Anna hoped so she can get back to her dreams of making the audience laugh at her jokes like her father.

Mia was filled with excitement. "YES! Miss Sarah, there hasn't been a show where the leads _actually_ kiss each other right?" To her, her idea seemed fresh for Kaleido Stage. She felt the spark of wanting her new creation to be filled with lust and passion!

Sarah pointed a finger to her chin and thought for a good minute. "Actually… there hasn't." Sarah was surprised at the new revelation that there wasn't a show where the leads kissed. Sure in most of the shows, they are close to kissing or doing something else like a kiss on the cheek, but nope. No intimate touching between lips had crossed her mind. "Why? What's your idea?"

"I want to make a show focused on the kiss between the two leads!" Mia slowly turned her head to Sora's direction, which caused the lavender haired girl to point at herself in confusion. All she remembered was the mention of a kiss.

"What? Me?" Sora was utterly confused with what was happening.

"Of course you! You're going to be one of the leads!" Mia stated with a matter-of-factly voice.

"Wait huh!?"

"You are the Kaleido Star! It's natural for you to be playing the leading lady." Mia crossed her arms very impressed with herself. She was running the ideas throughout her head for the new show. She smiled ear-to-ear in her mind.

"That's a perfect idea Mia!" Rosetta exclaimed.

"Awww… Little Sora is growing up," Sarah teased.

"I bet Leon won't take kissing you all too well. He'll probably think you're an amateur and lose all respect for you," May spoke.

May's words were getting to Sora. All that she strove for will be lost if she did kiss him. "HUH!?!?!? I never even had my first kiss yet!!" All eyes stared at her with surprise. "What?"

Silence answered her.

Mia contemplated this. She has been Sora's friend for a couple of years and didn't want to impose something on her that she's not comfortable with. _But this idea's tooooooo good!! It would definitely make me known in the directing business. Sorry Sora. _"Sora?"

"Yes…?"

"Would you be comfortable with it if you got to choose the person?" _There! Everyone's happy!_

Sora thought about it for a second. She knew that Mia has been wanting to be more acknowledged by the Boss in her efforts. She remembered Mia saying that she didn't want to have anymore supervisors; that she wanted to make a great show all by herself. _I can't be selfish. Mia worked too hard. _She sighed. _At least if I get to choose, that'd be greater than not being able to choose and getting stuck with… _the image of Leon coming closer and closer to her sparked… "YES!"

Everyone looked at her with questioning eyes. "So you're okay with playing the part in general?" Rosetta spoke up.

"You know it's okay to admit that you're too scared to do it. I'll be the lead if that's the case." May taunted coolly. _Hmm, if Sora doesn't want to kiss anyone on stage just because it'll be her first kiss, she shouldn't really be considered a Kaleido Star. Let's see if she'll challenge me._

"O-of course I'll do it!"

"Are you sure, Sora?" Anna voiced.

"It'll be your first kiss…" Mia pointed out.

"Unless she kisses someone before the show or rehearsals!" Sarah retorted with an elated tone. Everyone had a picture of a blonde blue eyed boy in their minds.

"Um... It's really okay. I'll do it for you, Mia." Sora reassured her friend with a smile.

"If you say so…" there was a slight pause, "well anyways! If you guys don't mind, I'm going back to work!"

"Are you kicking us out?" May interjected with an annoyed face.

"In simple terms… yes." Mia gave them a smile and shooed them outside her door. But right before Sora left, she prompted, "Sora, please choose within three days so I can finish the script to fit whoever you chose as soon as possible !"

"EH!?" The door was shut closed.

"I can't believe you agreed to do that," Rosetta voiced. She thought for sure that Sora would have declined and would try to convince Mia some other idea for a story… _unless…_

"Why not?" The others had gone back to their rooms. Sora and Rosetta were walking together to their rooms, luckily for them their rooms were near each other so they could continue their conversation.

"Well it will be your first kiss, unless you did what Miss Sarah said." Rosetta always thought that a first kiss would be a special event that you only share with someone that you _really_ like, not something meaningless. On top of it, she thought Sora already had her first kiss; well so did everyone else. She's famous! How could she not have done that already?

"Well I get to choose who I'll be doing that with, so it won't be that bad." Sora didn't want to think about it, at least not right now. It was too late. She was tired. She wanted to have a night where she can sleep in peace.

"So did you already have someone in mind?" They reached Rosetta's door. The redhead looked up at Sora for an answer.

"Honestly, I have no clue." Sora rubbed the back of her head. "Anyways, good night!"

"Good night," Rosetta opened her door and closed it right after. Sora made her way to her own room to settle for the night. _Ugh, too much… to think about… Ughh…._

Once Sora entered the room and closed the door behind her, a voice spoke, "You know Mia is a really good friend." Sora jumped up from the sudden new voice. She turned around and saw it was Fool.

"God, Fool! If I wasn't so tired, I would be flushing you down right now. And what do you mean anyway?"The performer face planted onto her bed.

"What I mean is that she's giving you an opportunity to finally be kissed!" Fool sat down on the night table beside the bed. _Finally a play that shows affection! Maybe I can convince Sora to tell Mia that there should be a _very intimate_ scene. _He was completely spazzing out in his imagination.

"Eh…" She too drifted in her own thoughts. _I can't believe I agreed to this. Now I have to _choose_ who. That's a good question… who?_ Sora drifted into slumber trying to find her answer.

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Mia was in Kalos' office. She was standing up waiting for a reply or critiques from the Boss. Sarah was right behind him reading along. This was the first time that she was completely, utterly nervous about what he has to say about her work. She stayed up the whole night at least finishing a proposition paper for him to read. She included the highlights and some intricate details that she came up with. All-in-all, it was a _rough_ draft. She knew that what she was presenting was entirely unpolished and he might reject it because of that, but she knows that this idea of hers will make it big.

Kalos put down the papers. "It's good." Mia sighed in relief. "Who do you have planned as the leads?"

"Well Sora and uh… the other… uh…" She was contemplating on how to put it in a professional manner.

"She told Sora to pick her partner." Sarah revealed easily for the orange haired girl.

Kalos stayed silent pondering about the idea. "Why did you ask her to choose?"

"W-Well it'll be her first kiss, and I didn't want her kissing someone she didn't feel comfortable kissing." Mia knew how amateurish that was to let Sora choose. She was covering up Sora's unprofessional attitude. "Had I chosen the person, or you, and Sora didn't want to kiss them, it would reflect on her performance." Mia proclaimed.

"Then why not have May do it?" This was odd for Kalos to do. He hardly questioned anything. He just went with it or didn't. No questions whatsoever. Both girls noticed.

"Because she thinks Sora should do it as well." Mia recalled their talk from last night.

"Really?" She simply nodded in response. "And Sora is alright with this role?"

Mia nodded again. "Only if she gets to choose her partner, though."

"Hmm… Get Sora right now." Mia cocked her eyebrow and saw his hand gesture for her to go. She did as he wished. _Something's definitely up with him._ _I wonder if Miss Sarah knows._

As soon as the door closed, Kalos spoke. "What do you think about it?"

"You're asking for my opinion? Why?" Sarah was really surprised. This was unlike him. He normally knew everything he wanted to do without anyone's inputs.

"Just."

Sarah contemplated on answering, but answered anyway. "I think the story plot and the characters are good. It would really be a good show, if everything, especially if the climax is done right."

"I meant on who Sora should choose as a partner," Kalos clarified. He thumbed through the papers again. _What is going on in his mind?_

As Sarah was about to speak, the door opened and came in Mia and Sora. "You asked to see me, Boss?"

Kalos cleared his throat. "Yes, who do you have in mind to be your partner for the next show?"

Even though it was a new day, Sora hadn't given it a thought. She really didn't want to. She quickly thought over the possibilities. _Leon- EW. No! Yuri? It feels like I'll be betraying Miss Layla if I do… EHH!? Is that all the choices I have?_ _Oh no… _"U-uh I don't know yet," she stated in defeat.

"I'm giving you till five to choose." Kalos entwined his fingers and saw Sora's expression to his statement: total shock.

"You can't be—"

Kalos interrupted. "Take it or I'll be rejecting your proposal, Mia."

Mia's face turned into a white sheet. It was filled with fear and horror. If Sora doesn't take it, her efforts and dream will be crushed. All for nothing. But Sora noticed it and verbalized, "I'll do it."

"Good, you're dismissed." Mia and Sora left the room.

"Why did you do that?" Sarah voiced. She thought his proclamation was ridiculous. But then again, it is business.

"To meet a deadline."

"Huh?" _What deadline?  
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* * *

Sora and Mia sat outside the boss' office. It was already three when Kalos decided that they'd have to choose by five. The air was filled with hysteria and cluelessness.

"How about Leon? I thought you guys were really hitting it off during the very end when you two performed the angel's maneuver?"

"No way! I felt sympathy for him, but I can't say I felt anything for him like that!"

"Yuri?"

"Nu-uh."

"Why not? He's tall and dashing! Rich and Barbie's Ken practically! Even though he can be a dark ass hole, but that's beside the point!"

"If I did it with him, I'd feel like I'm helping him cheat on Miss Layla." Sora said in a lower tone of voice.

"You know they never went out? They just grew up together since the growth of Kaleido stage."

"Eh… still."

There was silence. "How about you try what Miss Sarah said? Why don't you go kiss someone before the performance?"

"It's not that Mia. Isn't this show going to be focused on the leads' chemistry with each other? It just won't work."

"Anna?" Mia rethought about it. "Nevermind, she wouldn't be able to play this role."

"What are the roles like anyway?"

"Well I still don't have the general story idea down, but all I know is that the guy has to be mysterious and alluring. Seductive and assertive."

"We need more top guy performers."

"I agree." They nodded their heads in agreement.

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It had finally struck five o'clock. The girls went inside unknowing of their fates.

The tension was high in the room. Kalos' back was facing to them as he faced the giant glass window. Negative vibes were felt. A gulp was heard. "Bos—"

"Did you choose?"

Sora bit her tongue and paused before she answered. "No…" she stated in a low voice.

A smile crept up his lips. "Leave."

"Are you going to—" Mia began but was cut off.

"I'll discuss about this later. Now leave. " Mia and Sora left the room reluctantly.

Kalos still facing the beach view. He picked up his phone from his pocket and dialed a number on his speed dial. "How's Off Broadway?"


	2. Chapter 2: Suprise 1 and 2

Chapter Two

Surprise 1 and 2

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_Kalos was still facing the beach view. He picked up his phone from his pocket and dialed a number on his speed dial. "How's Off Broadway?"_

"Mia, I'm really sorry," Sora had apologized to Mia constantly after their meeting with Kalos. The sorrowful look Mia wore on her face encouraged Sora to continue. But Anna, who had observed this interaction almost since it started, had enough.

"Guys, we don't even know what the boss thinks about this. Maybe he'll come up with something to save the show. Let's think positive guys!"

Sora nodded her head. "Yah, you're right."

Mia sighed and forced herself to cheer up. _I can't let this affect everyone. It's really fine, if in the very end he rejects my proposal._ "Alright, let's do something to take our minds off of this. Especially mine!"

Everyone laughed. "Haha! You're right. But what should we do?" Anna added.

"Oh! Let's watch that new Chipmunks movie!"

"Agreed!" Mia and Anna exclaimed.

* * *

The next day rolled around. The trio had watched the movie and was exhausted from the previous night's event and slept in. A loud beep was heard throughout the whole Kaleido site that stirred the girls from their sleep. Then the boss' voice was heard: "ATTENTION ALL STAFF AND PERFORMERS! PLEASE MEET AT THE MAIN TRAINING ROOM IMMEDIATELY!"

The three were sprawled out on their own beds. Mia was forcing herself to not stay in bed. She got up from the cozy warmth and started getting ready. Anna was still lying on her bed telling herself in a minute she'll get up. And Sora, well she was being kicked by Fool.

Since the announcement, Fool had been trying to wake the Kaleido Star but his efforts are all failures. _How can that girl sleep through that loud wake-up call anyway?_ He thought in irritation. "SORA! WAKE UP!" He decided to try to kick her nose and pick at her cheeks. His efforts managed to give him a slap off her face as if an annoying fly was swat away.

Loud knocks arose from the door, which woke up Sora. Fool looked at the door and back at Sora. _Seriously? This girl sleeps through the mega-phone wake-up call and me physically inflicting pain on her face, but wakes up to someone knocking on the door? I won't be surprised if she wakes up to a whisper from across the room._ He sighed as he searched the room for Sora. Luckily he landed on the floor and not outside the window.

Sora was at the door and opened it for the guest. It was Rosetta. "Come on Sora!" She grabbed the dazed girl's arm and led the way. Sora didn't even have time to close the door properly, or to even change out of her pink pajamas.

"Rosetta! Where are we going?!" They were running as fast as they could to Sora's unknown destination.

"Didn't you hear the announcement?" The redhead turned around to see a clueless Sora running along with her. "I knew getting you was a good idea!"

And sooner or later, they arrived at the training room. Sora felt so out of place when they entered. She was the only one that was in her pajamas. She whispered to Rosetta, "What time is it?"

"It's three in the afternoon." She said matter-of-factly. Sora felt heat rising up to her cheeks as all eyes laid on them.

"Sora, you're late." Kalos stated the obvious. "Anyways, for the show, I've brought two people that could help with production; make them feel welcomed. They will be staying at the dorms for six days." He stepped aside the double doors. They opened slowly and showed two figures: Layla and Kelly.

'Oh my gosh,' 'I can't believe it,' and gasps spread throughout the faculty. Sora's breath was taken away. It had been a whole year since she last saw her. Layla's hair grew almost back to its original length. Her figure was as just as stunning as before, if not more. Her eyes conveyed experience and something else, but Sora couldn't figure it out.

"Layla is here to help Sora--," Sora's eyes bugged out with confusion and panic. _What? She came here just for me? Why?_ "—pick her lead partner for the next production. Please do whatever is asked of you from these two women. That is all." And with that, Kalos left with Sarah right behind his tail.

Layla took a quick look around, but when she almost reached Sora's direction, she was glomped by the star. "Ms. Layla! I missed you so much!" Layla hugged the girl back lightly.

"Come on, Sora, we need to get to work. We can catch up later." With that comment, it made the younger girl bounce up from her touch. "Okay!" She yelled to everyone from cast. "Performers only. All the girls will be excused for today, guys, come and lineup, except Leon and Yuri."

Everyone did as they were told. Sora was looking cluelessly around. _Gulp. I hope she doesn't make me kiss every guy here. No, she wouldn't do that. She's way too professional for that._ "Has everyone warmed up?" Layla looked around to see everyone nodded their heads.

"Ken?! What are you doing in the line-up?" Sora was in utter shock.

"Sora!" Sora lurched back as if a dog had just been yelled at by its master. "Have _you_ even warmed up?"

"Uh… I didn't have enough time. I just woke up." Somehow Sora knew that was a bad answer.

"No excuses. Don't worry about others before yourself." Sora nodded sadly. _God has it been long to be lectured by Ms. Layla. _She walked over to one of the mats on the side and started doing leg stretches. _But I really am wondering why Ken is here. He does have a heart problem doesn't he?_

"Now we're going to see who is the best here. Don't hold back. This is your audition for the leading role. It is not guaranteed to Leon _or _Yuri. So you do have a chance _only if_ you can empress me."

With that the guys showed Layla and Sora their best tricks they had. One of the guys did ten back flips straight. Another did an original move off the trapeze that consisted of a flip in the air and three turns upside down and a land on the bar with his feet. And when it was Ken's turn, he asked for Sora's assistance.

"This is supposed to be a solo audition. What move are you trying to do?" Layla was skeptical about Ken's ability to perform, and he asks her to bring Sora along for the fall.

"The Golden Phoenix." He said blankly. Everyone else held their breath. They never thought Ken would have it in him to be able to perform a simple stunt let alone the Golden Phoenix.

Layla started. "Absolutely n—"

"Okay." Ken and Layla looked at Sora in surprise.

"Sora, I don't think that would be wise. There's a high chance that you'd get hurt."

"It's okay, Ms. Layla. I trust Ken."

The blonde stayed silent for a second. "Very well."

Sora and Ken walked to the trapeze. Ken whispered to her, "It's okay Sora, I've been practicing this for three months straight."

"What about your heart?"

_Hopefully this would awaken it with you, Sora. _"It's fine. I had my check up five months ago and the doctor said it would be okay for me to do this."

They reached their respective places and began. The timing was almost perfect. Sora's moves were like the first time she performed the Golden Phoenix in front of Layla. Ken's moves were _way_ better than anyone expected. His hold on Sora's hand was strong and firm when she landed, which surprised her. She thought he was weak. He threw her up in the air enough for her to land on her feet on the bar. He secured his lock on her with his arm on her waist. And there was the ending pose.

Layla did not want to admit it but she was impressed. True to her word, she sighed and looked at the disbelieved couple. "You're in."


	3. Chapter 3: Glass Mask Performance

Chapter Three:

The Glass Mask

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The preparations for the performance went… well. The props were outstanding. They immediately conveyed the essence of the glass masked character—unknowing, shielded and aloof. The rehearsals were up to par except Ken's. He had trouble maintaining a steady training pace and kept slipping. Sora wished him the best and gave him friendly advice. He nodded and became determined with each step throughout. The last thing he wanted to do was to let her down. Layla observed his trainings occasionally and was not at all impressed. She was starting to regret ever letting him get this far.

But she looked at Sora who smiled fondly at Ken. If she has faith in him, then so does she… in her own way.

* * *

On the date of the performance everyone was nervous especially Sora. She was in her fitting room and looked over her appearance again. She was dressed in a dress that was tight fitted at the top and where the ends fluttered out freely. Her make-up was dark, heavy, sexy to say the least and added the performance flair needed. She was set! But her mind wasn't no matter how much she mentally pepped herself for the performance.

She had faith in Ken. But she was still nervous for him. To her, it seemed that he had been practicing way too much for his body to take. But he kept pushing his limits just for her. She knew it and she felt guilty for it.

"Hey Sora, you're on in five!" Rosetta knocked on her opened door and smiled trying to reassure her. Sora smiled to herself thinking back when it was Ken who would remind her when to go out. "Break a leg!" But her final comment worried her more. Sora smiled nervously back knowing she was just giving her luck. _I need to have faith in him. He always had faith in me._

The music started up for the performance. Sora and Ken were on the sidelines waiting patiently for their cues to go out. Anticipation was nerve wreaking for Ken. He had long waited this moment to bathe in the spot light, on top of that, with Sora. He smiled at her and she smiled back. That was enough encouragement for him to go on.

Ken entered first for his solo introducing his character. It was somewhat hard for him to see through the mask, but he couldn't back out now. He jumped on the trapeze and leapt out.

His performance seemed to be going well, to Layla, but she noticed something off. And when she did, Ken wasn't able to reach for the bar and fell into the dark haze. She rushed towards where he landed. Thank god for the special effects. Maybe the audience would have thought it was part of the act, she hoped for that.

When she was next to him, she asked hurriedly, "Are you okay? What happened out there?"

Ken was clenching his torso as if it was hard for him to breathe, "I'm fine. I can do this."

"No! You're going to go to the hospital."

"No! I can't let myself down after I've come so far! I especially can't let Sora down!" His blue eyes met hers. She reflected as to how he became so stubborn over the years. She thought he was always a support type; never did it occur to her that he could be this unyielding.

"Your stubbornness is irrational at this point. If you don't properly heal and try to continue with the show, all your efforts will be in vain. And the show will be a disaster. And I will not let the people that came to watch this show be disappointed." He was really aggravated.

He was about to open his mouth in retort saying, "You did the same thing when you preformed the Legendary Manuever!" But he knew better than to go down that route. His eyes reflected understanding, tiredly. He did not want to keep arguing with Layla, especially when he knew that she's right.

"How's the show going to continue then?"

"Let me worry about that." She smiled and took his mask from the floor. Help came and took him to the side assessing his physical status.

Sora looked out in the haze of emptiness wondering where Ken had gone. She saw him fall but she couldn't rush out to find him. Her number with him was up next. Luckily the performers continued on with their parts letting her have enough time to decide on what to do next. _What am I going to do now?_ She looked around in confusion looking to everyone around her as if they knew the answer. But they looked cluelessly back.

Just as Ken's solo ended, their duet started. She gulped. _Well I guess I could always try doing a solo. Maybe they're trying to figure the situation out. Alright, here I go… _Sora launched off where she was expected to be caught by Ken, but she mentally prepared herself to make it look as if she missed and catch the bar with her foot. But in midair she was caught in a tight embrace that felt warm and soft at the same time.

She opened her eyes and looked at the masked figure. This can't be Ken! She blinked in confusion till she noted the soft feel against her chest. Then she came to an understanding, it was Layla! _Of course!_

"What are you doing, Layla?" Layla was dressed in a fitted suit that held her curves in place, but loose enough to go unnoticed when one is not specifically looking at those areas. Her hair was pulled back in a mini pony tail. Her aura was different than Ken's. His character seemed very loose and excited, young. While Layla's seemed calm, cool and sophisticated. She fit the part perfectly, Mia thought to herself as she saw them perform.

"Shesh, why didn't we just have Layla play this part in the first place?" She uttered in frustration to no one in particular.

"Because we were trying to hook Sora up with someone." May reminded her with a dull expression.

"Oh right…" She looked at the couple mesmerized at how they never needed to practice to be totally in sync with one another's moves. Then it slowly dawned on her. "OH SHIT!"

"What?" Anna asked.

"If Layla is going to play Ken's part, how are they going to do the finishing move?" Everyone looked at each other noticing that Mia did have a good point. They can't exactly skip that part, it was the main point of the whole play!

Sarah put a hand on Mia's shoulder. "I'm sure they'll figure something out." She said with a reassuring smile.

"That's right. We are talking about Sora AND Layla here." Cathy added. "They'll find a solution." The girls were enticed with their duet performance; it was very believable that they could be lovers. The tension was felt throughout the auditorium as their moves gyrated and was the center focus.

"We're going to have to take you to the hospital." One of the medical team members said to him, but it just seemed like a faded noise to Ken as he watched their performance. _How? Why? _He had to admit it to himself, the performance looked better than anything him and Sora were able to pull off. Layla and Sora just had that… umph! His eyes seemed more and more detached to the world as his sight became blurred with tears welling up in his eyes. _Will I never have her?_ He thought to himself as he was carried on a stretcher out to the ambulance

When it wasn't her part, Sora looked at Layla's performance. It was lucky that Layla watched and critiqued some of Ken's performances. She didn't necessarily got down every move she had to make, she just improvised. And her improvision was better than what he had come up with, as long as she was able to relay the message of the character—the character which is glass faced not showing his true side at all, if there was one to actually show. That's where Sora's character comes in.

It was time for the finishing act. Sora's character lunges for Layla trying to make her stay and to show her emotions. _Oh god! I totally forgot! _Sora shouted in her head. The forged lust disappeared instantly and turned to worry. Layla noticed the aura change and didn't appreciate the obvious change in the vibe.

"What's wrong?" Layla said over the music when they were passing each other on the trapeze in a seducing manner.

"What are we going to do?" As Sora swung by her again and did a flip and dive in the air. Her character telling Layla's that she completely trusts her.

Layla caught her and positioned Sora next to her standing on the bar. "About what?"

"The finale!" Layla was holding her at the waist. The blonde slightly shook her head at the girl. In Layla's mind, she thought how the ending could have turned out to be better if they weren't looking at each other with clueless facials.

"You mean …" She pulled her close and moved her hand to Sora's chin to bring it closer to her masked face. Sora was on the brink of excitement and a nervous breakdown! _What is Layla thinking?_ Panic erupted throughout her body. Layla slowly removed her mask enough to cover both their faces into the slow fake kiss. "now?" Layla winked at her as she solved everyone's commotion and worry. Sora sighed with a smile. Layla kept her close and moving her hands up and about her torso. "Sora, we need to keep up the acting till the lights go out." Trying to remind the girl to calm down and to get back into persona.

"Oh! Right!" Sora grabbed hold of the older girl's face and brought their faces close to touch. Their foreheads were leaning on each other. Blushes grew instantly on both their faces at her haste action, but luckily the lights faded before they could notice the other's embarrassment.

It was time for the curtain call. Everyone came out first. The applaud was tremendous, more than any performance they had ever done. Then the two stars appeared, but Layla decided to keep her mask on. "Why did you keep it on?" Sora asked as they waved to the crowd smiling.

Layla refrained from waving. "It would look bad on both of us if I didn't." Something in Layla's words ached the younger performer, but dismissed it. She didn't want to look too much into it, at least not right now.

Once everyone was backstage, Mia was the first to congratulate the two on their performance then everyone else, including Kalos and Sarah.

"Great job pulling that off, you two were amazing!" Mia sparked.

"Too bad you didn't get your first kiss yet Sora,…" Rosetta started.

"OR DID SHE? BARK! BARK! What did you do Sora! Did you force yourself on Miss Layla! BARK! BARK!" Sora was wide eyed in surprise. _Why does she always blame me? _Sora sighed to herself.

May turned to Layla. "Please don't tell me she kissed you, Miss Layla? Please! That'd be so gross!"

"What's that supposed to mean, May?" Anna started to try to protect her friend.

"It'd be gross knowing that she kissed Miss Layla. Any girl kissing another girl is gross! DUH!" The same hurt filled Sora's heart for a moment. She rationalized it as if she wasn't worthy to kiss Miss Layla, or to be kissed in general.

A hand went for her shoulder. She looked up to see a collective Layla. "No we did not kiss."

"Oh yah, you had that mask between you guys anyway!"

"Why did you have to make it look so real, Miss Layla?" May said in utter disappointment. If anything, she wished she could have been that close to the blonde instead of Sora! She never really understood why Layla would pick Sora over her, but she thought it must have been just because they've co-starred with each other long enough to be very familiar with one another.

"It's acting. It has to look real to get the desired outcome. What will we do about Ken, Kalos?" Always like Layla getting straight to the serious matters.

"Well I've just received a call from the doctor saying that Ken will be at home on bed rest for at least a week. Apparently his heart was working twice as hard for him this whole time."

"Understood."

"So Layla, you'll understudy him till he gets better."

"Of course. Then will you excuse me everyone," Layla bid everyone a fair well and good night but Sora caught up to her before she left.

"So will you be here early tomorrow for retouching?"

"Do you feel it needs retouching?" Layla retorted in a light tone trying to seem offended.

Sora blushed. "No, but um yah—"

"Yes I'll be here early tomorrow to rehearse with you, Sora." They stared and smiled to one another till Layla's limo driver opened the door for her. "Good night, Sora."

"Good night, Layla."

* * *

Ok I redid the chapter with a few added stuff to provide a bit more character and description and fixed a few flawed stuff :] 9-17-10


	4. Chapter 4: Finale Retouched

Chapter Four

Finale Retouched

* * *

The next morning rolled around slowly for Sora. She wasn't able to sleep last night. She was too excited knowing that she was going to practice with Layla again. _How long has it been? _She reflected as the morning light shined through her window.

"Ah! It's almost morning! I have to get some sleep or Layla will kill me!"

She tried sleeping. But one hour passed, and she was still another. And another. _UGH! Please! Even 30 minutes… _She heavily sighed as the 30 minutes flew by. She looked at the clock: 8:30 blared at her face. Disappointed at her lack of sleep, she got up and got ready for the day.

She rushed over to the training rooms. Sora had a hunch that Layla was probably already there. Most of the rooms were still empty. A few of the recruits were hanging out stretching and talking amongst each other. She went into the trapeze room and caught Layla in the middle of a stunt in a bead of sweat.

_Maybe I should have just practiced instead of trying to fall asleep. Seems like she did get here early. _She tried not to seem surprised. She remembered how Layla would always be the first practicing when she was still with the troupe.

Layla noticed Sora enter the room and started stretching. Layla finished off her move and landed on the safety net to get to her faster. She grabbed her towel from the side and wiped the sweat from her face and body since she was wearing a training bra and fitted sweat pants. "I thought we agreed to be here early?"

As Sora was stretching her legs, she said, "I guess I forgot what early meant for you." They chuckled lightly.

"It has been awhile since we practiced together, huh?" Layla added.

"It has." There was a silence as Sora finished her legs and moved onto her arms. "What time were you here? Six?"

"Five." Layla corrected. Sora tried to not look in disbelief. _I should have just started practicing._ She finished her warm-up.

"So what do you want to work on, Layla?" She said as she stood up straight looking up to the older girl.

"I was thinking of redoing the finishing act. Besides the fact that we were talking to one another and that ruined the ambience, I feel the moves aren't very reflective of the message."

Sora meekly spoke, "I thought it went well."

"For practice. Not for a performance." Sora had to agree for that fact. "If we work on this part, it should also help with how we react and perform with the other numbers as well. This is the highlight of the play and it requires a lot of emotion." Sora nodded. "Now the whole pensive and push and pull act worked well, but it didn't have the intensity. Let's try adding a new maneuver that'll catch everyone's attention and would work in the characters' emotions."

"That sounds great, but what do you have in mind to do?" Sora was a bit confused on how to do that kind of move. The closest move that held anything close to what Layla was describing was the Legendary Maneuver. But they know they can't try to pull that off again. Plus she knew Layla didn't want to do something already done, she wants to exceed that.

Layla thought about it for a second. She had a rough idea, but she didn't know if it would be doable. "Well this act is where your character shows mine what his true emotions are. With this move, it'll be portraying you showing him and his acceptance of it. The kiss will also be included in this." Sora looked majorly confused. How were they going to pull off a stunt that included all of that and where they end in a kiss?

Layla noted the younger girl's confused face. "Well here's what I was thinking of doing: we'll go launch off from the trapeze at a great height to each other, you're going to do simple and tired moves, I'll be doing more flamboyant moves trying to reach you, as we're about to touch, we miss each other, try not to be able to reach the bar, and that's where I catch you at the last minute and pull you into a Spider-man type of kiss." As Sora processed Layla's description, she really saw that what she was planning had more volume than what they did before.

"That doesn't sound too difficult. What's going to be hard about it?" It sounded simple compared to what she's done before.

"Landing into the kiss. It has to be a smooth transition, almost feather light to give a better effect, as if it was natural and sensual."

"Alright let's try that out!" Layla smiled at Sora's enthusiasm.

They got Jean to help them move the trapezes apart from one another to match the distance they needed. They thanked him and went to help the other performers.

Layla and Sora got up to their respective trapezes and looked at each other for the cue to go. "1… 2… 3…" Then they jumped off. They swung hard back and forth for a while to become in sync with the other to gain the momentum.

They took note of each other's speeds. Layla nodded to Sora and she got the hint: they'll jump on the third swing. When the third swing came, they let go of the bars. Sora did two simple front flips. Layla back flipped in the air right above Sora's body and twisted in a downward spiral to the bar reaching for Sora. Sora saw how high Layla got and was in disbelief, but she kept up her part. She was desperately reaching for her and ended twisting facing the ceiling falling backwards to the floor. Layla caught the bar with her ankles and managed to roughly catch Sora at the ankle.

"See what I mean?"

"Yah I do. It seems like you added extra difficulty on your part, Layla. How did you manage to grab the bar while you were spinning head first? I imagined it was hard enough for May to try to pull that in an upright position, but now you did it upside down." They continued to swing two and fro.

"It just seemed more appropriate. So we need to get the timing down perfectly to make it seem like a soft catch."

"Gotcha." Sora nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Hmm and since you turned around instead of flipping," Layla was interrupted.

"I can flip instead if that's what you want."

"No, no. It was better turning upward to look at me. So we'll just end up in an upside down hug position."

"Okay!"

Layla let go of the girl and redid the whole process again till an hour before the performance.

Meanwhile outside the door, Mia and Anna were outside looking through the window.

"Woah, they're still at it." Anna commented.

"I hope they know that the show's about to start soon." They continued to stare at the oblivious couple.

"Hmm… are you two seeing what I'm seeing?" Sarah interjected. Mia and Anna jumped in surprise.

"Sarah! When did you-? How long were you here?" Mia started.

"You nearly scared us half to death!" Anna added.

"Oh pish posh. Well do you?"

"That they've been practicing endlessly? Yes." Mia answered.

"No not that! LOOK!" Sarah pointed at the windowpane. They looked stumped at what else was there. Sarah smacked her own forehead. "You kids these days. Well someone better tell them that they're on soon."

"I'll do it!" Anna rushed inside the training room.

"What did you see?" Mia asked.

Sarah waved her hand to dismiss the discussion. "Maybe it was just me. Forget about it."

The three of them came out of the practice room.

"Hey how was practice you guys?" Mia asked the two sweaty performers. They really looked like they were worn out, especially Sora.

"It went really well." Layla answered.

"Yah, we changed up the ending."

"What?" Mia asked in shock. How could they be thinking of changing the ending right before the performance?

"We've been working on it since this morning. Don't worry Mia, we got this." Sora reassured her friend. She knew how bad it is to change something at the last minute, but it was for the better good of the show.

"It'll have more of a dramatic effect than yesterday's performance. It will also suit the characters better." Layla added.

Mia contemplated but she knew once Sora and Layla have something in mind and are determined, there's no point in trying to convince them otherwise. "If you guys say so." Layla and Sora went to their dressing rooms and got ready for the performance.

As curtains were rising, Sora looked to her partner. They met eye-to-eye. She felt secure knowing Layla was there to be with her. The blonde gave her a reassuring smile and leapt off to begin her part. _I've missed her. _Sora smiled to herself.

Today their performance wasn't just in tune with one another; it was filled with flair and alacrity. They included midair dancing with one another, walking from bar to bar with each other hand-in-hand. "Gosh, if they were great yesterday, what do you describe today?" Rosetta asked to no one in particular.

"I guess… awesome?" May answered. She had to admit. Leon looked boredly at the couple. "What do you think, Leon?" He turned and walked away. "What was that about?"

"I guess he's just jealous."

"He can have Sora! I'll have Miss Layla." May continued to ogle at her idol.

Rosetta could only shake her head in exasperation. "Hey it's the finale!"

Mia walked over to them. "Oh there you two are."

"Hey Mia! Hurry before you miss the finale!" Rosetta exclaimed. She hurried over and watched the spectacle before them. _Let's see how they change it._ The duo launched off from their bars towards one another.

"What are they doing?" Rosetta asked.

Layla flipped up above Sora and spiraled downward. "Is Miss Layla doing her own version of my Demon Spiral?"

"Yah but it looks more… gentle…" Rosetta commented.

Layla grabbed the bar and successfully caught Sora in a quick embrace. Layla thought to herself to keep practicing on it. "Woah! She caught her and grabbed the bar at the same time in that spin!"

"That's Miss Layla for you!" May teared up in admiration.

Sora took off Layla's mask this time and pretended to kiss her behind the mask. Mia let out her held in breath. She was slightly disappointed about the show. She really loved that Layla is performing with Sora and the moves were conveying the character's motivations and emotions, but this show was supposed to be all about the kiss. Then she rethought about Ken. _Well if Ken performed it, I'd have the kiss in there, but I wouldn't have the overall performance like I would if Layla performed. Why can't I have both! Why didn't Sora pick Yuri or Leon again!_ Mia heaved out tired of thinking of the what ifs.

After the curtain call, Layla and Sora met up with Mia and the crew. "How was that, Mia?" Sora was heaving between breaths with a smile.

"Yah it was great! Better than yesterdays." She tried not to sound disappointed.

"Mia, what's wrong? Was it not what you wanted?" Sora was starting to panic. She didn't want to let Mia down. She was so excited for this show to succeed.

"No! No! It was great… I guess I have to get Jean to update the set to make it look better to accommodate that maneuver." Mia left looking for Jean.

Rosetta and May continued to give the two stars compliments and their thoughts about what they did in the performance. It almost seemed as if they were huge fans of theirs meeting them for the first time. Layla looked back at Mia.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sora, early?"

"Yes! I'll be there early this time haha. Good night, Layla."

"Good night, Sora, everyone."

Layla took her leave and went to look for Mia. She never was able to handle imperfection. Layla needed to know what Mia thought was inadequate. After all, it was her play. After searching Jean's office, she headed back to the stage searching for her. She sees that Mia is directing Jean and his crew as to what they needed to change.

"Since they require more distance, we'll just pull up another trapeze here, and have two track lights above them and that'll follow their movements. Then we'll need…" Mia finished telling the carpenters and Jean the new plan.

Layla came up behind her and inspected Jean and his crew's work. Mia looked at the plans. "Amazing how one can change the stage so quickly, huh?"

"Yes. Mia," Mia turned towards the star, "What was lacking? You seemed disappointed."

Mia sighed. "It's nothing! Don't worry about it, Miss Layla!" Layla gave her a stern look which made shivers run up and down Mia's spine. "Honestly, it's just that I feel like this is just another show: the couple gets together and everything is fine. One of the big differences is the level of the passion, but when you guys do the finale, I obviously can't have the finisher and the level of the intimacy seems to just… flatten. Like it's not what the audience paid to see. Do you get what I mean?"

"Yes, I do. What would you want me to do about it? Kiss Sora?"

"No! Well.. no!"

"I bet you wish I were Ken, right now, huh?"

"A little." They chuckled lightly. "But then I would have to deal with the whole lack of intimacy thing throughout the WHOLE show. That's more of an effort. And it's better to have the whole show better than just the ending."

"I presume. I wish I had better solution to the dilemma."

"Don't worry about it, Miss Layla. I'll just say in my head, when Ken comes back, 'well the whole show was great, now here'll be the ending!'" Mia tried adding a little humor. She knows that Layla wants to make the show better. But there doesn't seem anything more fitting than what they're doing now.


	5. Chapter 5: Poker Face Pt 1

Chapter Five

Poker Face pt One

* * *

The week had passed by quickly. The performances were great, but they had to come to an end. Ken was back from his recovery. He looked solemn from the time he arrived. He practiced as soon as he got in Kaleido Stage. No one wanted to bother him; his demeanor wasn't as welcoming as it usually was.

People gathered around the doors and gossiped amongst each other. The crowd got so big, that Mia had to cut in. "Hey! What's everyone doing just standing around?"

"Ken's back." One voiced.

She looked through the small glass windowpane and confirmed the statement. Mia had been thinking about a way to solve their issues for the entire week, and she finally did. "Can one of you guys get Sora and Layla here please?" Two of the recruits nodded and rushed to find them.

Mia went inside the practice trapeze room. She saw Ken was in the middle of a straight body back flip to the other bar. She was surprised at his hidden talents. She was glad that he does have the ability to perform, just not the endurance.

He climbed down the ladder and met Mia half way. "Hello Mia. How was everything while I was away?"

"Layla performed as you while you were gone."

"I figured…" He paused then looked nervously at her, "D-did they…?"

Mia gave him an irritated look. As if Ms. Layla had no professionalism, she thought to herself as to how much an insult that was. "No. Ms. Layla found a way around that."

"O-of course." He said in relief.

Mia changed her tone to something more sympathetic. "Ken, I don't feel like you're able to outdo what Ms. Layla has set up for you."

"What do you mean?" He gave her a questioning face.

"She set up a pretty high bar for you to beat. Her performances were raw, passionate, and flawless. You don't have enough experience to beat her performance." Mia said flatly. She needed to be frank. This wasn't a situation to be uncertain about.

He paused and tried processing what Mia was trying to say to him. "So what are you trying to say Mia? You don't want me to play the part anymore?" He said in a disappointedly angered voice.

Just then, Layla and Sora appeared in the room. "Mia, you wanted to see us?" Sora asked as they got closer to the couple.

"Y-yes." Mia never thought she had to sound so professional to one of her best friends. "I've figured out how everything would work out."

"That's great, Mia!" Sora started.

"What is it then?" Layla added.

"It's really a simple solution. Layla, you'll be performing Ken's role for the majority of the play till the very end. Then Ken will take over and kiss Sora and finish the performance. Of course both you and Ken will be at curtain call. How's that?" Mia turned to all three of them in uncertainty.

"That sounds great!" Sora excitedly claimed. Finally a great solution to the problem.

Ken looked a little distraught with the whole idea, but he didn't complain. He would only have to perform at the end, the finale, and still get to kiss Sora. Still a win-win since it'll be the shining moment. "That sounds fine; I at least still get to perform the finale."

In reaction to Ken's statement, Mia gave an empathetic facial gesture. "Ken,… I meant for Ms. Layla to perform to till the point of the kiss…" Sora didn't seem affected. Layla seemed to have no opinion at all, which made Mia very nervous.

Ken was trying so hard to hide his frustration. "A-are you trying to tell me that all my practice was for n-nothing? All you want me to do is kiss Sora?" Sora tried not to look hurt by his comment, but she understands his current position. She would hate it to just be used and not actually perform.

Mia sighed and scratched the back of her head. She tried remembering her talk with Cathy.

"_You can't give in to everyone's wants. If I did, my shows would be a disaster! You're a director. They are your actors. They need to listen to you, and if they don't, that means they don't have respect for you as a _director._ I know it may be hard for you to do this since they are all your friends, but it needs to be done."_

"Ken, I understand that you've been working hard to even be on stage, but you were sent to the hospital _during _your first performance. I cannot afford that slip up again. Also to touch on the subject we talked about before, this is the finale. This is the most crucial and important part of the play; I can't let the play decrease in quality. Also I'm concerned for you, Ken. I'm sorry, but take it or leave it. I don't want to see you hurt."

Ken was dumbfounded. He never expected to be told by Mia. Mia was always so understanding, but he didn't know what to think anymore. As everyone stared at him waiting for his response, he tried to compose his feelings. "I'll think about it." He left with his head down.

When Ken left, Mia let go of the breath she apparently held in throughout the whole conversation. "Well what do you think, Ms. Layla?"

"It sounds suitable. Good work on handling the situation. I see more Cathy in you every day." Layla gave Mia a reassuring smile that calmed the younger girl immediately.

Mia smiled. "Thank you, that was very hard for me to do, but it was necessary." Layla nodded in understanding; she knew all too well being the one on the receiving end. "Well I didn't think Ken would decline the offer. Now what?"

"We'll continue with things as the way they are."

Mia nodded. "It's a good thing we have a three day break till the next performance."

"Yah! I'm so excited to do something fun." Sora added. The trio laughed at the instant change of mood.

"That sounds like heaven, but I will be working on the next show." Mia sighed.

"Already?" Sora asked.

"Yep! Well time's a wasting; I need to work my creative gears. Good thing I'll be working with Cathy on the next one, so Layla, I guess you'll be staying with us for a while, huh?" Layla gave them an 'I guess so' smile. The other two chuckled. "Alright I'll see you guys later."

With that Mia left the two alone. "Layla?"

Layla looked down at her. "Yes, Sora?"

"Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Of course, what made you think otherwise?" Layla looked perplex. She never mentioned cancelling on the younger star.

"Just making sure." Sora smiled. "And you're picking me up at the dorm, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright see yah then." They bid their farewells.

The day passed quickly. It was filled with gossip about what will happen to the show. Most weren't really bothered by it because there was just one more show to do. But they were wondering how it would affect the future shows. But Mia didn't let it affect her thinking about the next show spectacle, which was a bigger problem. But she was still stuck.

Meanwhile everyone was getting back to the dorms and getting ready to snooze, Sora was trying to choose her outfit. Anna was there trying to help her, but Sora was contradicting herself way too much.

"I should wear this dress; we are going to a fancy dinner place… right? I mean Layla does eat at fancy places a lot. So I should wear a dress!" Sora held a red dress that she wore to dinner with Kalos and Sarah.

Anna looked over the dress and its shape. It seemed to be a well fitted dress from the top to the bottom; it would have hugged Sora tight as a bear. "But have you thought that maybe Ms. Layla wants to go somewhere you want to eat?"

That never dawned on Sora. She realized that Anna did have a point. She knew that Ms. Layla would try to convenience her more than herself. "Ah! You're so right! What am I going to do now!" She searched her whole closet and drawers for something appropriate. "But what if it is a formal dinner?" She looked over to Anna. She merely shrugged.

"Why are you getting so worked up about your dinner with her anyway?" Anna stared at the ceiling while Sora ravaged through her drawers.

She finally decided to wear a semi-formal look: a dark red dress that stopped at her knees, black short heels and a black jacket that stopped right under her breast. "Because I want to seem like I grew up a little since we last saw each other." Sora replied back as she started dressing.

"Why does it matter? She's like your best friend. Do you think she really cares if you 'grew up' or not?"

That was a good question; she really didn't know the answer. Then she heard a car beep outside. Anna lunged to the window to see if it was Layla. Layla was driving a convertible Porsche and was dressed in her business clad outfit. "Hurry up, Sora!" Anna said.

"I'm almost done." And she rushed out, jumping from her window to meet the blonde. Anna shook her head. _That must have hurt since she's in heels._ She was right, but Sora didn't want to show it.

"Sora, are you alright?" Layla took off her shades and looked concerned at her co-star.

"I'm fine," she smiled. "So where are we going?"

"You're 19 now right?"

"Yep. You're 21 now huh?"

"Exactly." Layla smiled.

"It's your birthday!" Sora thought back to the surprise they gave Layla. "No it's not!" Layla laughed at the childish behavior.

"It will be on the day of the performance." She clarified. Sora gave her an 'oh' expression. "So what are you getting me Sora?" Finishing off the question with a wink that made her instantly red. "I'm just kidding. I don't expect anything from you. Let's get going."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well I've had this written for awhile, but I never found out how to wrap it up haha. Hopefully I finish part 2 by the end of the year :D Sorry if I don't get to any of your messages or reviews, don't take it personal. I'm just really busy, but I'll try my hardest to get to it ASAP :]


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